Do You Eat The Flower Pot Of Leaves Served With Laab

[sanook2me]

I love eating the flower pot of green leaves served with laab / nam tok etc...

Does anyone else like eating these as I dont see too many farangs eating it...but i love it.

It must be healthy and gives a different taste when eating hot spicy Thai food..

[pattaya_girl]

8 Years ago I hated them and wondered why Thai people ate trees and stuff, now I love them, very tasty....

[PhilHarries]

I love eating all the leaves etc with laarb or any other Thai, or any Asian, dish.

However, there is a danger if the leaves aren't washed off thoroughly of picking up bugs like ascaris (a parasitic worm). I picked up an infection in Viet Nam just over a year ago, easy to clear with an de-worming tablet but you need to be aware that the danger exists.

[anothertorres]

I love eating the flower pot of green leaves served with laab / nam tok etc...

Does anyone else like eating these as I dont see too many farangs eating it...but i love it.

It must be healthy and gives a different taste when eating hot spicy Thai food..

funny, i had laab tonight and after the meal, without thinking about it or having usually done so, i ripped off a leaf and started chewing on it. in retrospect, i think i just subconsciously felt bad about NOT eating the flower pot.

[Jingthing]

Yes, I eat it but this is one way people get worms and it is common for Thai people to eat deworming pills sometimes on the assumption that they probably have them. So eat flower pots, accept you have gone native and say hello to the worms. Sorry.

[Moonrakers]

The flower pots help to cool your mouth after a bit too much chilli.

[mahtin]

Nothing like a little weed...

[blue eyes]

Yes, I eat it but this is one way people get worms and it is common for Thai people to eat deworming pills sometimes on the assumption that they probably have them. So eat flower pots, accept you have gone native and say hello to the worms. Sorry.

Yes of course I eat the vegtables that come with the meal of laab or nam tok.They are part of the meal and add minerals and vitamins to the meal.

Jingthing,Where did you get the idea of getting worms from eating vegtables?Also the idea that it is common for Thai's to eat deworming pills?Those are things that I have never heard of in Thailand.

[PhilHarries]

Yes, I eat it but this is one way people get worms and it is common for Thai people to eat deworming pills sometimes on the assumption that they probably have them. So eat flower pots, accept you have gone native and say hello to the worms. Sorry.

Yes of course I eat the vegtables that come with the meal of laab or nam tok.They are part of the meal and add minerals and vitamins to the meal.

Jingthing,Where did you get the idea of getting worms from eating vegtables?Also the idea that it is common for Thai's to eat deworming pills?Those are things that I have never heard of in Thailand.

Well I have experience of getting worms, ascaris, from eating uncooked green matter in south east Asia. It was Viet Nam admittedly but just Google "ascaris" and see what you come up with. They estimate around 1.2 billion people worldwide are infected and it is most prevalent in the tropics where sanitation and food hygene are often poor.

As for the Thais taking de-worming tablets I can not comment but several doctors I have spoken to agree that taking a tab every six months or so is not a bad idea unless you are going to go paranoid over washing vegetables to be eaten raw.

<Edit : to add one of the doctors was in the Bumrungrad hospital so we are not talking local village quacks>

Edited March 13, 2009 by PhilHarries

[Jingthing]

Where did you get the idea of getting worms from eating vegtables?Also the idea that it is common for Thai's to eat deworming pills?Those are things that I have never heard of in Thailand.

A dermatologist at Pattaya International Hospital gave me some deworming pills "just in case" and told me Thais commonly just take them periodically without bothering testing and diagnosis. She was talking about the kind you get from raw veggies. I don't know if the bugs you get from raw meat are more serious, I suspect they are. I looked up the pill and it sounds safe enough. I eat local, thanks for reminding me to take some more pills. Available in any pharmacy, does someone know the name of the pill, its been a while.

Edited March 13, 2009 by Jingthing

[PhilHarries]

I posted a thread a while back on my experiences and some members were kind enough to post details on available meds. I hope this works as I've never tried posting a cross threaded link before. If not just go to the South East Asia forum and do a forum search on "ascaris".

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Ascaris-t170...&hl=ascaris

[robbo1]

Where did you get the idea of getting worms from eating vegtables?Also the idea that it is common for Thai's to eat deworming pills?Those are things that I have never heard of in Thailand.

A dermatologist at Pattaya International Hospital gave me some deworming pills "just in case" and told me Thais commonly just take them periodically without bothering testing and diagnosis. She was talking about the kind you get from raw veggies. I don't know if the bugs you get from raw meat are more serious, I suspect they are. I looked up the pill and it sounds safe enough. I eat local, thanks for reminding me to take some more pills. Available in any pharmacy, does someone know the name of the pill, its been a while.

I thought you would have more chance of getting worms by eating the raw laab rather than the vegetables not that that stops me arroy mak mak